Are Birth Doulas Worth the Money? Yes, absolutely

A photo of a new mother and Marcia standing in a hospital with masks and gowns on

Are Birth Doulas Worth the Money?

Or the question could be, “how good are you at elite-level endurance sports?”. Labour, like any marathon or Ironman is a series of events requiring physical and mental fortitude. Having a birth doula alongside you not only gives you access to directed emotional support, but also can be linked with better birth outcomes. ¹

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the average labor lasts 12 to 24 hours for your first birth. These hours will not be the most comfortable hours of your life. Early labor can last anywhere from 6 to 12 hours.² You may feel mild contractions that come every five to fifteen minutes. These contractions can last from 60-90 seconds.

Think of it this way, for the first six to twelve hours of labor you can experience contractions every fifteen minutes. If you experience the low end of contractions, you’ll have four contractions an hour in the beginning. That’s manageable. These may feel like mild period cramping, that dull ache deep in your body, but this is the early stages. We’re just getting started. Hopefully, this discomfort only comes from your uterus, or you may be one of the lucky ones and experience back labour.

Back labour can feel like a muscle spasm that radiates from your back to your hips. It can come and go with each contraction. Or it may not ease up at all, it could be a steady stream of discomfort that begins six to twelve hours before active labor starts.

For the second twelve hours your contractions become more painful and become more frequent. Congratulations, you have reached active labor! Active labor is where your cervix dilates, and your contractions come more frequently and with greater tenacity. You quickly leave behind the comfort of early labour, oh what a joy it was!

You are twelve hours in, on average you have experienced 48 contractions, but now that’s changing. You still have twelve more hours to go. In active labour, contractions can come every five minutes. Twelve contractions an hour for twelve more hours? That’s at least 144 more contractions you must get through. Eventually the contractions come every three minutes. That’s 20 contractions an hour. Then them come every two minutes. That’s 30 contractions an hour. At the end they can come every minute, making you experience 60 contractions in an hour. And guess what? They do not stop. Unlike the Ironman where there are transitions between events allowing for a moment of respite. Labour is not so forgiving. It is exhausting. It is mentally draining. It is not unlike elite-level endurance sports.

It just keeps going, and going, and going. In the moment it feels never ending. You are tired, sore and achy. A birth doula is there, present with you during this marathon of an experience. They are experienced and knowledgeable. They know how to provide counter pressure on your hips to relieve the hurting. They know the different positions for a laboring body that provide some relief. They are emotionally present for you, with a clear head and a steady hand to squeeze through the pain.

They are your advocate, your emotional support system. Someone who knows your wants and preferences. Someone who can advocate for you once you are 18 hours into labor and can not think straight due to the exhaustion. They can advocate for your birth plan when you are too tired to talk. They are your fortress, your support system. An experienced wealth of knowledge living through the journey of labor with you. Additionally, they are linked to better birth outcomes. Fewer C-sections, fewer premature deliveries, and shorter lengths of labor. Furthermore, “the emotional support provided by doulas was associated with less anxiety and stress in birthing mothers.”¹

This post is not about scaring you into hiring a birth doula. Instead, it seeks to describe the arduous nature of labour, especially to those who have not experienced it. Labour requires fortitude like endurance sports, but it is often disregarded as something that, “women (and pregnant people) have been doing for centuries”. As if that makes it easier. As if the experience doesn’t matter because its common, but that is ridiculous. Your experience does matter. You, dear reader, matter. Birth doulas are there for your experience, to make sure you feel heard. To make sure that you feel seen as your birth unfolds.

Are birth doulas worth the money? Resoundingly yes.

Doula & Sleep Consultant | Marcia Horbacio - Trustworthy and dependable doula care

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